Burton Snowboards has announced the impending closing of their Vermont snowboard manufacturing plant. From the Burlington Free Press:
“The environment here is not very manufacturing-friendly… a board costs more to make than you than you sell it for,” Burton CEO Laurent Potdevin said Tuesday. Burton will keep its global headquarters in Burlington.
Specifically, the CEO said, labor costs, real estate and utility expenses made it difficult to turn a profit with boards made in Vermont. Health care benefits are among the factors making manufacturing here expensive, he said. It costs “significantly less” to manufacture in Austria, where Burton has made boards for more than 25 years, he said.
I won’t even go into the “health care benefits” issue, being that Austria has tax-funded universal health care, and the health care debate is currently raging, and the main difference between health care in the U.S and health care in Austria is profit, and..oh, wait, I said I’d not go there.
Burton already makes most of their snowboards in Austria and China, but it’s sad that a company that once made all their boards in Vermont is totally pulling the plug on U.S. board manufacturing.
My second snowboard was a Burton. As was my third. And my fourth. But my fifth, a splitboard, was made by Voile in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA. And my next snowboard purchase will likely be handcrafted by a backcountry-loving dudein Silverton, Colorado, USA.
Oh, and if any soon-to-be-laid-off Burton employees are looking to move out West, Voile and Venture are hiring:
Ski and snowboard production workersLooking for anyone with experience working with a combination of wood, fiberglass, and composite materials. Ski and snowboard building includes wet lay-up of wood, fiberglass, and composite materials. Hand bending and fitting of steel edge material. Router cut-out of plastic base material. Band saw cut-out and machine sanding and grinding of skis and snowboards. Email your resume to jobs@voile-usa.com or call us at 801-973-8622.
PRODUCTION TECHNICIANFull time seasonal worker needed to assist with all phases of the production process at our Silverton, Colorado factory from April through October. No experience necessary but a positive attitude, strong work ethic and passion for snowsliding are a must. For a complete job description and application email info@venturesnowboards.com.
Here’s a little old school Jeff Brushie to cheer you up:
You can almost taste it, that approaching change in the weather each September that surely leads to the first fall snowfall up in the hills.
Here’s a sweet video from Zimtstern that should further fuel your winter stoke. (Warning: This video may cause you to run outside and try riding on any available slidable medium.) And then check how they made it.
Never say never, but I’m finally calling it on my 2008-2009 snowboard season. I was hoping to get in a day in July, but it didn’t come together, and the ocean beckons me until August. So Sunday, June 28, 2009, will go down as day #32, my final run on the slopes until fall.
I’m fully surrendering to summer, with it’s warm backpacking, surfing, camping, river running, stargazing, berry picking, coyote chasing, cruiser riding, ice cream eating, mountain biking, thunderstorm watching, barefoot existence. My solace from the fact that summer saunters quickly away is that the sweet glistening snows of winter get closer with every sunset.
It was a damn fine season of shredding, with good friends, good trips and good snow. From opening day at Loveland Ski Resort, to an epic powder day for the opening of Blue Sky Basin at Vail, to roadtrips to Crested Butte and Wolf Creek, to my first full moon night ride down Loveland Pass, to “short” hikes in Keystone’s back bowls, to riding the snirty snow at Beaver Creek, to an untold number of powder turns and corduroy carves, to pond skimming at A-Basin, to my purchase of a splitboard for even more powder access, its been a sweet one. Oh, and I also started this little ol’ blog, which has been a blast.
I’ll leave you with a little video of my final outing, a solo day with a run down a couloir off the south side of Sawtooth Mountain in the Indian Peaks Wilderness, Colorado. See you next opening day.
Eric Gaertner of the Muskegon Chronicle has a sweet story on Sherm Poppen, the man who built the first mass-produced snowboard, the Snurfer. Poppen’s invention is headed to the Smithsonian. Props.
“Poppen built the first Snurfer in 1965, a board similar to a water ski, but better suited for the snow for his children. His idea was picked up by the local Brunswick Corp., which manufactured Snurfers for distribution around the country. It would be almost 20 years later before snowboarding really took off, but Poppen’s original idea was never forgotten.
Much love for Sherm. I owe my winter happiness to him.
Here’s some seriously old-school Snurfing action on the Tubes, which looks much like the modern NoBoard. Funny thing, history. What goes down goes around.
